New York City FC are still alive after a nail-biting 3-1 win on Saturday afternoon at Citi Field, evening the best-of-three series at one a piece. First half goals from Alonso Martinez and Thiago Martins were enough to hold on, despite Cincinnati pushing late and requiring goalkeeper Matt Freese to make important saves to even up the series.
City entered the first half knowing they needed to take it to the opposition. They controlled the game with better passing and wide play. Their efforts were rewarded in the 23rd minute when Martinez scored his first goal of the playoffs thanks to a pass inside the box from wingback Mitja Ilenic. The team continued to press forward, pinching Cincinnati into their own end, and being rewarded in the 40th minute with a set piece opportunity. Nick Cushing’s men didn’t fail to take advantage when captain Martins leaped for the header to double the lead.
Cincinnati entered the second half with a vengeance, pushing NYC and forcing errors. Luciano Acosta emerged as one of the more dangerous players on the field when he found Sergio Santos who then fed the goal scorer Luca Orellano. From there Cincinnati continued to push, forcing Freese into numerous close-range saves. As afternoon turned into night, City defended deeper than they hoped but were able to keep the opposition from finding the equalizer. A late penalty in stoppage time frustrated the away side as City grabbed their third and final goal.
The win extends NYCFC’s season for at least one more game as the team will travel back to TQL Stadium in Ohio for the third and final game in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs. While the momentum shift can definitely be with City, Cincinnati will know that they got their opportunities and can feel that they just as easily could have walked away with a sweep on Saturday.
STARTING XI:
New York City FC: Freese; Ilenic, Martins, Haak, O’Toole, Parks, Sands, Wolf (90′ Tanasijevic), Moralez (70′ Perea), Rodriguez, Martinez (88′ Bakrar)
FC Cincinnati: Celentano; Awaziem, Robinson, Hadebe, Yedlin (76′ Powell), Bucha (75′ Kelsey), Nwobodo, Asad (57′ Santos), Acosta, Kubo, Orellano
SCORING SUMMARY:
23′ (NYCFC) Alonso Martinez (1) assisted by Mitja Ilenic
40′ (NYCFC) Thiago Martins (1) assisted by unassisted
64′ (FC Cincinnati) Luca Orellano (1) assisted by Sergio Santos & Luciano Acosta
90′ (NYCFC) Santiago Rodriguez (1) PK
DISCIPLINE:
43′ (FC Cincinnati) Pavel Bucha – YELLOW CARD
52′ (NYCFC) Santiago Rodriguez – YELLOW CARD
57′ (FC Cincinnati) Deandre Yedlin – YELLOW CARD
68′ (FC Cincinnati) Yuya Kubo – YELLOW CARD
72′ (NYCFC) James Sands – YELLOW CARD
photo by Jordan Bank